Shannon McIntyre, Don’t Quit Your Day Job!

If Shannon McIntyre had a proper business card, it would read: Surfer/Artist/Surfboard Shaper/World Traveler/TV Show Host/Producer/Mom. But instead, Shannon’s card reads simply, “Artist,” and offers a postage stamp-sized thumbnail painting for proof. At first meeting, you might believe her card’s modest understatement, but if you linger a little longer, with a little encouragement, you just might get this quiet, modern-day Renaissance woman to share some stories from her life. And then you’d learn that she desperately needs a new business card—one that will do her justice.
 
Shannon McIntyre is maybe the most multi-talented multi-tasker you will ever meet, and perhaps the sweetest. This happy, humble San Diego native, who shyly refers to herself as “just a simple Santee girl,” is equally as comfortable with a planer in hand as a paintbrush, video camera, suitcase, and now, even a dirty diaper. With a career path as colorful and fantastic as her seascape paintings, Shannon is of the rare and lucky sort that have turned their passions into their livelihoods. An avid surfer, Shannon started shaping surfboards in college, got sponsored by Roxy, and has since logged months on the road and in the water surf tripping around copious coastal extremities near and far. Somewhere along the way she became an acclaimed artist. And then she became…a mother.
 
At twenty-eight, Shannon gave birth to her first child, Banyan, and her life hasn’t been the same since. But it hasn’t been all that different, either. You might think that becoming a mom would have slowed her down, but Shannon has found it to be just the opposite; sharing different countries and cultures with her son has become Shannon’s new favorite part of traveling, and at just two years old, Banyan can already claim more dots on the map than most adults. Oh, and it kind of helps that, these days, Mom and Dad are true ‘professional’ travelers, in every sense of the word…
 
As if earning a living shaping surfboards, painting pictures, and sampling worldwide waves wasn’t enough, Shannon, along with husband Shayne and son Banyan, have starred in the ultimate avocation-turned-occupation success story of all time. With the creation of their own surf travel TV show, On Surfari, the globe trotting trio has done what most of us will only ever dream about: turned traveling into their day job.
 
I caught up with Shannon on a recent SD layover. Join us as we talk surfing, shaping, painting, traveling, mothering—and how grateful she is for all that life has blessed her with.

 
How did you get into shaping surfboards?
I started shaping when I was a senior at Pt. Loma Nazarene University almost ten years ago. I was a Studio Arts major, and my senior art show was coming up. I needed a project for the show, and I also really needed a new board at the time, so Shayne suggested I shape and paint a surfboard for the art show. So I did, and that’s when I shaped my first board. I went to college with Chris Christenson, who’s now a well-known shaper, so he and Shayne helped me out a lot with learning to shape. My professors and the other students were all really supportive and encouraging after seeing that my first board was actually pretty decent, so I started getting some custom orders from kids at school. Eventually I got my boards into a few local shops.
 
Did you find being a woman shaper to be an advantage or a disadvantage?
I guess both. In a way it was an advantage because I had this niche of girls who wanted to support a woman shaper and who felt more comfortable ordering a custom shaped board from me than they would have with a man shaper. I was less intimidating to them, so they’d come and talk to me and we’d figure out the type of board that they needed. It was nice because I got to work with a lot of super cool girls with the same interests, but it also made it hard because there were less women surfers than men, so the market was smaller and more limited. Overall, I made about 400 surfboards before I got out of shaping three years ago. I was spending more time shaping surfboards than actually riding them, so I decided to make some changes. These days, traveling for On Surfari, my art, and my son keep me busy enough!
 
Tell me about your Fuel TV show On Surfari. How did the show come about?
My husband Shayne and I were doing a lot of traveling on our own and writing some articles for different surf magazines. Shayne had just done an exploratory surf trip to Russia and written about it, and after the article came out, someone from Bluetorch TV approached him about doing a travel segment for one of their programs. They just handed us a camera and that was it! Neither of us had ever done any filming or taken any classes in editing or anything, so we had to figure it all out as we went. Shayne really fell in love with the whole project, so after Bluetorch went out of business, we didn’t want to just quit; we made a trailer and a marketing package for our show and started submitting it to different networks. Fuel TV picked it up and we’ve been working with them ever since.
 
Where have you guys traveled to with On Surfari?
Oh gosh, let me think…we’ve been to Oman, India, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Panama, New York, Italy, Taiwan, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Tortola, and most recently, Baja Mexico. We do about four shows a year and usually spend two to three weeks in each location. We sometimes try to pick offbeat places that aren’t well-known surf destinations, so we don’t always get perfect waves. That’s okay though—surfing is a big part of On Surfari, but it’s more like just the common element that holds everything together. We like to show the country’s culture and people, the food, history—everything that makes that country special and interesting.

What country has been your favorite so far?
I love them all for different reasons, but Taiwan was the biggest surprise for me. When you think of Taiwan, you think of manufacturing, sweatshops, pollution—but it’s not really like that at all. Taiwan is a beautiful country—very tropical and exotic—and a lot of the country is really undeveloped. It has jungle and mountains like you’d see in Kaua'i, and beautiful, empty beaches. Good waves too!
 
How has becoming a mother affected your travels?
Our son Banyan is a great traveler. He just turned two and he’s already been to eight countries. He’s super mellow—he has a great spirit—and I think that’s partly because we’ve never molded our lives around him; we pretty much go about our routine in the same way as before we had him and let him adapt to our lifestyle. On the road we’ve had to make a few changes though: we’ve had to slow things down a bit, we can’t rush from one place to the next, and my husband and I can’t surf together as much—someone always has to baby sit on the beach. But these are small sacrifices to make and it’s definitely worth it. I love seeing the world through my son’s eyes now. Traveling is actually more fun with him along.
 
In between your travels, you’ve made painting one of your priorities…                Yeah, in between trips for On Surfari I’ve been able to focus a lot on my painting. It’s a great job because its something I can do from home and still spend time with my son, so I feel really blessed to be able to do that. My favorite medium is acrylic on canvas, and I’ve been lucky to have a lot of commissions from different people and companies. I find inspiration for my art in surfing, but also in God’s beautiful creation that surrounds us and in my different emotions—if I’m having a bad day, I can just paint a happy day and it makes me feel better.
Has growing up here in Southern California shaped your artwork?
I really feel blessed to have grown up in one of the most beautiful areas in the country. It’s such a privilege to live here—there’s so much natural beauty, and the surfing community is really tight and a lot of fun. Growing up in East County SD really encouraged me to paint more; when I would be at home in Santee I would miss the beach, so I’d just paint a scene from the ocean and it’d make me feel closer to the coast than I actually was. As a kid, that made painting really special for me—being able to transport myself to the beach just by painting it. I haven’t made a ton of money or anything from my art, but like surfing and traveling, it’s something I truly love to do. I may not be a super rich person, but my life has been so rich.
 

For more on everything Shannon, check out: www.shannonsurf.com